Paul Allen's announced $300 million fresh contribution Wednesday to his Allen Institute for Brain Science continues the philanthropy
that likely will leave his mark more importantly than any of his other national or local business, sports, and other non-profit activities.
Millions of American families have been touched by brain or other neurological disorders. Such disorders often are regarded as progressive and, ultimately, irreversible. Yet recent research has shown the brain to be far more adaptive and resilient than originally thought. Allen's effort is by far the most important and pathfinding in its field.
Allen's post-Microsoft for-profit ventures have been mixed. His Vulcan Inc. remake of the South Lake Union neighborhood has been controversial. His music, sports, and aviation ventures — even when successful, as with the Seattle Seahawks — sometimes are characterized as an arrested teenager's hobbies. But his brain-research concentration is serious and socially valuable. His Institute for Brain Science is competing in the Super Bowl of scientific research. We all are rooting for its success.
Congratulations, Seattle citizen Paul Allen.
